Abstract:
The purpose of this study is to investigate the language of advertising and analyse its
use in MTN Ghana print advertisements. The study looked at the language devices the
MTN Ghana copywriter uses in writing the advertisements and how these devices are
manipulated to lure potential customers to sign onto the network. It also investigated
the most used language devices in MTN Ghana print advertisements. Qualitative case
study design was employed for the study. Data for the study was all the MTN Ghana
print advertisements running in the system from June, 2015 up to June, 2016. Fifty
(50) advertisements were purposively selected and analysed. The analysis was based
on Nord’s (1997) theory of Functionalist Interpretation of Text Typology. The study
found out that the language devices in the MTN Ghana print advertisements were:
phonological levels- rhyme, alliteration, assonance, and unpredictable spellings;
lexical levels- nouns, adjectives, verbs, and pronouns; morphological levels conversion, acronymy, and coinage; syntactic levels- imperative sentences,
declarative sentences, interrogative sentences, exclamatory sentences, ellipsis, and
incomplete sentences; semantic levels- personification, hyperbole, and repetition; and
lastly, code-switching. It was also found out that the most frequently used language
devices are imperative sentences and adjectives which are used to influence the target
audience to sign onto the MTN Ghana network.
Description:
A THESIS IN THE DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH EDUCATION, FACULTY
OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES EDUCATION AND COMMUNICATION,
SUBMITTED TO THE SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES, UNIVERSITY
OF EDUCATION, WINNEBA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE
REQUIREMENTS FOR AWARD OF THE MASTER OF PHILOSOPHY
(ENGLISH LANGUAGE) DEGREE.
OCTOBER, 2016
